The primary purpose of this study is to further our understanding of how people adapt to changing life circumstances with age, and to identify factors associated with specific contexts that influence the manner and course of this adaptation process. A major task for individuals as they age is to maintain a strong self-concept and sense of well-being in the face of an increase in perceived and real negative changes in biological, psychological, and social realms (e.g., reduction of physical resources, declines in memory skills, loss of social status). Interestingly, research supports the notion that most older adults adapt quite well to aging in the absence of deteriorating health. Understanding the mechanisms behind successful adaptation may help us in our ability to promote successful aging. Recent research has suggested that one way in which adaptation occurs is through shifts in goal-oriented coping responses. Specifically, as personal resources for dealing with blocked goals decline with age in adulthood, it appears that it is adaptive for the individual to abandon a goal orientation that relies on direct action and to adopt one that has a more cognitive focus involving changing or rescaling aspirations. Older adults who make such a transition appear to be the ones who navigate the aging process best. Up to now, much of the research in this realm has been somewhat limited and general in nature, with little examination of how these goal orientations influence adaptation in specific contexts and, conversely, how specific contexts moderate the developmental path identified for these orientations. For example, in addition to age-related variations in personal resources, it is reasonable to assume that the favorableness of context-specific conditions for goal achievement will also affect the developmental course of goal-directed coping styles. In addition, it is not clear how general goal orientation will affect perceptions of self and circumstances in specific contexts. In the proposed study, we seek to examine the interaction between general goal orientation and context-specific circumstances in order to better understand the factors that influence adjustment with aging.